Kiran Thagunna is primarily a middle-order batter who builds an innings around occupying the crease and accelerating once set, rather than an out-and-out power hitter. His two centuries in the 2025 PM Cup illustrate this: his 121 off 101 against Gandaki and his 115 off 91 against Koshi both came after his side had lost early wickets.

He also bowls right-arm fast as a change option, though he is used sparingly with the ball. His Nepal Premier League bowling figures (three wickets across three matches, best of 1/15) suggest he is deployed as a part-time fourth or fifth seamer rather than a strike bowler.

At provincial level, Thagunna's temperament under pressure has become his defining trait. He was named vice-captain of Sudurpaschim Province for the 2025–26 PM Cup season under skipper Sher Malla, and his 35 off 42 in the PM Cup final helped drag his side to a defendable total after they had slipped to 31 for 5.

Kiran Thagunna was part of the Far Western Development Region squad in the first PM Cup in 2017, playing two matches and scoring three runs. He then dropped out of the tournament for the 2018 and 2019 editions, returned with limited output in 2021, and was left out of the playing XI in 2022. His form turned in the 2024 PM Cup, when he finished as the tournament's sixth-leading run-scorer with 284 runs in eight innings across nine matches, adding three half-centuries and a top score of 68.

Thagunna's domestic breakthrough came in the 2025 PM Cup. On March 10, 2025, he scored 121 off 101 against Gandaki Province, and on March 23, 2025, he followed it with 115 off 91 against Koshi Province, reaching his century off 81 balls with 11 fours and four sixes and winning Player of the Match. That made him only the third batter in tournament history to score two centuries in a single edition.

In the 2025–26 PM Cup season, Thagunna was named vice-captain of Sudurpaschim Province under Sher Malla. He made 26 off 46 against Karnali and a fighting 35 off 42 in the PM Cup final against Tribhuwan Army Club, as Sudurpaschim became the first provincial team ever to reach a PM Cup final.

Kiran Thagunna made his T20I debut for Nepal against the Netherlands on June 16, 2025, in a Scotland T20 Tri-Series match at Titwood, Glasgow — a historic contest that went to a third Super Over. Thagunna scored 15 off 25 balls before being dismissed by Daniel Doram.

He played his second and, to date, final T20I the following day, June 17, 2025, against Scotland at the same venue. Nepal won a low-scoring thriller by two wickets; Thagunna made 10 off 16 balls. As of July 2026, he has not added to his two-match T20I tally and has not played ODI or Test cricket for Nepal.

Thagunna has played for Pokhara Avengers in every Nepal Premier League season since the competition launched in 2024. He was bought as a Category B player at the league's inaugural auction in October 2024, selling for the joint-highest Category B price of NPR 1,000,000 (10 lakh).

He has been retained by Pokhara Avengers for both subsequent seasons — Season 2 and Season 3 — without going back into the auction pool. His playing time has been modest relative to his auction price, with Pokhara often using him as a lower-middle-order finisher or occasional bowling option.

Kiran Thagunna has not captained Nepal or any franchise team. He has, however, served as vice-captain of Sudurpaschim Province in the Men's PM Cup during the 2025–26 season, deputising for captain Sher Malla.